JUPITER, Fla. • Concluding a process that the player earlier termed “business” and that the club considered an essential tie to its future, the Cardinals Thursday announced agreement on a five-year extension with catcher Yadier Molina, a talent they admit has no comparable within the game.

A franchise not three months removed from losing its signature player to free agency retained Molina by guaranteeing him $75 million from 2013-17 with a mutual option for 2018. The Cardinals will pay the four-time Gold Glove catcher a $1 million signing bonus within a deal that provides full no-trade protection and lacks deferred money.

Molina’s extension features a $15 million average annual value, second among catchers only to the 8-year, $184 million deal negotiated by the Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer in 2010. It also reconciled his desire to remain with the defending world champions while receiving compensation befitting a player the club frequently called the industry’s best at his position.

“I was still thinking it was a business. My idea was to stay here. My commitment was to stay here with this organization because I know how great it is,” Molina said.

Terms of the deal underscore Molina’s importance to a franchise that until Thursday had only two players – left fielder Matt Holliday and lefthanded starting pitcher Jaime Garcia – under contract beyond 2013.

Molina, 29, is certain to play the majority, if not all, of his career with the team that drafted him in 2000 and promoted him to the major leagues in 2004.

“It’s everything. I grew up here,” Molina said. “ 'Mo’ drafted me in 2000. I feel good here. It was my first choice to stay here, and I’m glad we got it done.”

Thursday afternoon’s announcement fell three days after the Post-Dispatch reported the sides closing on a deal and a week after agent Melvin Roman arrived in camp in an attempt to jump-start stalled talks. Roman insisted upon his arrival that his client would not entertain additional offers once the season began. Having learned the risks of taking that path last December when unable to retain first baseman Albert Pujols, general manager John Mozeliak adopted the posture of a motivated buyer to prevent Molina from reaching the market.

Failing to reach an agreement before the season “wasn’t going to be a great outcome,” Roman said. “It would have been a more difficult situation for both sides. Yadi’s goal was to stay. That’s why we tried to get it going at this time.”

As tribute to his defense and his recent evolution as a hitter, the Cardinals made Molina the game’s second-highest-paid catcher though he never has produced more than 65 RBI and only once hit more than seven home runs in a season.

Molina has defined his position for the majority of a 7½-season career while transforming himself from a nominal offensive player into one who twice has hit .300 and last season led the Cardinals in batting.

Appearing in 139 games in 2011, Molina set career highs in home runs (14), extra-base hits (47), average (.305), on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.814) and RBI (65).

The Cardinals placed a premium on what Molina means as a defender – a quality rarely noted when players redefine the market at their position.

“Trying to really quantify some of these things that aren’t traditionally done in our industry is difficult,” Mozeliak said, “But we did the best we could and ultimately felt we were at a point where it was fair to both sides.”

Ultimately, a club reluctant to set the market on players did so with a player who represents a deterrent more than an offensive enforcer. Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. referred to Molina as “a franchise-type player.”

Molina, 29, has appeared in 415 games and caught more innings (3,464) the past three seasons than any other major-league catcher. He has been awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove each of the last four seasons and last year was named the company’s Platinum Glove recipient, emblematic of his league’s top defender at any position.

Since 2005 Molina leads all major league catchers with a 39 percent success rate against would-be base-stealers. His 38 pick-offs also leads the majors in that span, easily outdistancing runner-up Miguel Olivo (16).

“It’s really hard to pigeonhole this in one area because he’s a unique player,” Mozeliak said. “Given how you value that position defensively, he’s the best in the game and he deserved to be compensated accordingly”.

“It’s hard to find comps for catching,” noted DeWitt. “I think Yadi’s tangibles and intangibles add up to a premier player. Plus, he plays so much. Consider all the games he’s played.”

The extension includes a $15 million mutual option for 2018 that could make the package worth $88 million over six years. Molina would turn 36 during the option year.

Though catchers typically enter decline sooner than other positions, Mozeliak fixated on a more specific trend to allay concern over Molina.

“If you catching at 30, you’re typically catching at 35,” Mozeliak said. “A catcher who has shown he can withstand it (early in his career) is typically not going to have a problem. His health history is pretty pristine.”

Publicly the Cardinals had previously downplayed the notion that unresolved contract status might represent a distraction to a player often described as a de facto coach on the field. Thursday’s signing allowed some to speak more bluntly.

“Guys can put on a front and tell you, ‘I’m seeing a motivated guy and I’m sure we’ll see that no matter what.’ But you’re human, too,” said manager Mike Matheny. “Things of that magnitude are really hard to put completely away. I’m happy for him. I’m happy for the organization. I’m happy for the fan base. I’m happy for me. I told Derek (Lilliquist) he just became a better pitching coach and I just became a better manager.”

Said Molina: “You just want to play the game and not think about the contract or anything outside the lines. You have to concentrate on the game. I’m glad we got it done now.”

Upon walking into Cardinals camp last week, Roman declared that his client would discontinue negotiations once the regular season started. Talks soon gained greater urgency and differences soon narrowed.

DeWitt, asked whether he sensed momentum when Roman arrived, offered, “I didn’t think he was showing up just to watch batting practice.”

“Who knows what would have happened if he had gotten to the market?” DeWitt said. “Ultimately, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity we had to get something done before the season started. We’re glad it worked out.”

The sides recently resumed negotiations far apart on money and length of contract. Molina sought a seven-year guarantee while the club countered at three years, according to a source familiar with the process.

With his client possessing less than eight years’ major-league service, Roman negotiated blanket no-trade protection, something his client otherwise would not have enjoyed until midway through the 2014 season. Molina’s leverage became most obvious in his ability to reject the club’s early demand to defer money.

Teammates had thought the deal a fait accompli for days but news of an announcement gave rise to a universal endorsement within the Cardinals’ clubhouse.

“He makes it easy for the pitcher. He makes it much easier for the defense,” said starting pitcher Jake Westbrook, who quickly appreciated Molina after arriving via trade in July 2010. “I’ve thrown to some very good catchers in my career. But Yadi is without question the best. There’s tremendous value in what he gives a pitching staff and the team as a whole.”

“This is a great day for this organization,” said Adam Wainwright, who has thrown to Molina since 2005. “He’s so important to what happens here. It’s hard to quantify it entirely through numbers. But you see how he works with us, how he controls the running game, how he goes about it . . . you can’t overstate what having him means.”

Copyright 2012 STLtoday.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I'm very happy he's back. Torn on the terms, but would take this contract in a heartbeat before letting him leave.

It concerns me that he's getting both high AAV AND a contract through his 34 season (catchers historically decline around 32).

But, if he can continue hitting like he did in 2011, he'll likely be worth it. He had a 3.2 oWAR last year which is pretty awesome for a catcher. His dWAR was only 0.7 but that's largely because there aren't many metrics to measure defense for a catcher yet. UZR is the biggest defensive metric, but it doesn't apply to catchers in the least.

If he can stay healthy and play 130 games/year, I think he can be worth the money. Also, one thing that isn't talked about much is that it's kind of a 6 year/$82 mil deal because surely 2012 was discussed in negotiations. That lowers the AAV to $13.6 mil.

We overpaid. I think we should have given him 5 years 10-11 million a season.

_________________

Official Sponsor of "The Barn"2013-2014 Official Sponsor of David "Captain America" Backes2012-2013 Official Sponsor of David "Captain America" Backes2011-2012 Official Sponsor of David "Captain America" Backes2010-2011 Official Sponsor of Brad Winchester2009-2010 Official Sponsor of Paul Kariya

We overpaid. I think we should have given him 5 years 10-11 million a season.

That's pretty much exactly the contract I was thinking he would/should get. I was even comfortable with 5/60. I think this one is high, but not as devastating as some make it out to be, especially considering the payroll room we're about to have ($60 mil coming off the books over 2 years from 6 players).

I think if we gave Yadi 10 mil a year, he walks. The tough thing about it is that it's hard to quantify a catcher's worth. In terms of offense, Yadi is not worth that contract. But his overall command of a pitching staff and defense really shoots his value up there.

The value of a catcher cannot be measured in terms of batting average, home runs, ribbies, etc... but in the way they handle the entire pitching staff and control the flow of a game. There's a reason the best managers used to be catchers. There's also a reason catcher is the least sought position in a lot of fantasy leagues--intangibles like the ability to call a great game aren't counted as stats. If the pitcher throws a complete game shutout your catcher doesn't get stats from it.

Not that any athlete is worth that kind of change though. Any wonder why it costs $200+ to go to a game these days?

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum